The exemplary embodiment provided herein relates generally to a cup holder associated with a passenger seat, and more particularly, to a deployable in-seat cup holder configured to fold to a compact, stowed configuration into a space defined in a seat bezel when not in use, and extends to an in-use, deployed configuration away from monitor and tray table assemblies to permit the simultaneous use of these assemblies.
Passenger seats commonly house and carry seat accessories such as cup holders, tray tables, video monitors and controls, among others. These accessories, for example, are often associated with an armrest for use by an adjacent seated passenger, or mounted within a seat back for use by an aft-seated passenger. Accessories may be carried on seat components or integrated into seat frames, coverings or carried on other accessories. Cup holders, for example, are often provided as an extension of an armrest or as a depression within a surface of a tray table. With regard to cup holder associations with tray tables, such configurations may be advantageous in terms of reducing seat complexity, but disadvantageously require the tray table be deployed to use the cup holder.
Accordingly, a deployable cup holder associated with a seat that folds into a compact configuration in a dedicated space in the seat is provided herein that overcomes the disadvantages of conventional cup holder designs.